Provinces

The 7 provinces of Nepal

Nepal has seven provinces, created by the 2015 constitution. Their land cover differs sharply: Madhesh is mostly farmland, Karnali and Sudur Paschim are mountainous and forested, Bagmati holds the Kathmandu Valley.

Provinces compared

Province	Area (km²)	Districts	Forest %	Farmland %	Built-up %
Bagmati	20,297	13	52.7	3.9	6.8
Gandaki	21,977	11	43.4	1.0	0.8
Karnali	30,663	10	26.7	0.6	0.9
Koshi	26,062	14	41.6	12.6	5.2
Lumbini	19,319	12	56.8	17.9	5.0
Madhesh	9,591	8	24.8	52.0	12.9
Sudur Paschim	19,744	9	43.4	7.9	3.8

Source: Nepal-adapted U-Net on the latest high-resolution imagery, 1,038 stratified sample sites.